Doyle Brunson Poker Profile

Holis and Doyle Brunson @ 2006 WSOP

Doyle Brunson Poker Profile

Doyle Brunson, also known as Texas Dolly was born on August 10, 1933 in Longworth Texas. Doyle was the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, tying him with Johnny Chan for the second most bracelets behind 11 time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth. He is also one of only four players to have consecutive main event wins at the WSOP in 1976 and 1977.

Longworth, Texas, where Brunson grew up, was a very small town with a population of around 100 people. Because of its size, Doyle would frequently run long distances to other towns, and became a promising athlete. He was part of the All-State Texas Basketball team. Although he was more interested in basketball than running, he entered the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet and won the one-mile event with a time of 4:38. He attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas because it was close to home. The Minneapolis Lakers started to pursue Brunson, but a knee injury ended his basketball career. Brunson then changed his focus from athletics to education and obtained a masters degree in administrative education.

During his college career is when Doyle started playing poker, five-card draw, and found it easy. His poker winnings paid for his expenses. After graduating from college, he took a job as a business machines salesman. His first day on the job he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and earned over a months’ salary in just under three hours. It was at that point that he left the company and began a career as a professional poker player. After traveling around Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, and meeting a few other pro poker players along the way, Brunson ended up in Las Vegas.

Besides his successful poker career, Doyle’s greatest achievement is probably his book: Super System, which is considered to be the bible of poker. Brunson is also the author of Poker Wisdom of a Champion (originally published as According to Doyle).

Brunson’s nickname, Texas Dolly, came from the incorrect reading of his name by Jimmy The Greek Snyder, and it stuck. Brunson has the honor of having two Texas Hold’em hands named after him. One hand, 10 and 2 of any suit, bears his name because he won the WSOP Main Event two years in a tow with them, in both cases completing a full house. The other hand known as the Doyle Brunson, especially in Texas is the Ace and Queen of any suit because, as he says in Super/System, he never plays this hand

As of 2010, Brunson’s total live tournament winnings exceeded $5.9 Million.

Brunson endorses the online poker room Doyle’s Room and is currently appearing in the Game Show Network series High Stakes Poker.

Doyle’s list of money finishes is extremely impressive and extensive so we have shortened this list to include only his finishes in the top 10.

Player Stats

2010: 5th place $20,000 NBC National Heads Up Championship
2009: 2nd place WSOPE Caesars Cup – Europe vs USA
2009: 4th place Poker After Dark Magnificent Six
2009: 7th place WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo World Championship
2009: 8th place WSOP Champions Invitational
2008: 2nd place3 Poker After Dark Nets vs Vets
2008: 9th place NBC National Heads Up Championship Finals
2008: 5th place Poker After Dark Cowboys
2008: 3rd place Poker After Dark 19th Hole
2007: 6th place WSOP $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha
2007: Winner Poker After Dark Bracelet Winners
2007: 3rd place Poker After Dark WSOP Champions II
2006: 2nd place WPT Father and Sons Tournament World Poker Finals
2006: 8th place WSOP $50,000 HORSE
2005: 3rd place Heat 4 Poker Superstars Invitational Season 2
2005: Winner WSOP $5000 Short Handed No Limit Holdem
2005: Winner No Limit Hold’em The Big Deal
2005: 3rd place $15,000 Main Event 4th Annual 5-Diamond World Poker Classic
2005: 3rd place PPT 3rd Annual 5-Star World Poker Classic No Limit Hold’em Final
2005: 7th place $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational tournament
2004: Winner $5000 No Limit Hold’em Legends of Poker
2004: 2nd place $1500 No Limit Hold’em Festo al Lago III
2004: 2nd place No Limit Hold’em WPT by the Book Invitational
2004: 6th place WSOP Tournament of Champions
2003: 4th place $25,000 No Limit Hold’em Bellagio 5-Star World Poker Classic
2003: Winner WSOP $2000 H.O.R.S.E.
2002: 4th place $2000 No Limit Hold’em 3rd Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open
1998: Winner WSOP $1500 Seven Card Razz
1998: 2nd place WSOP $2500 Omaha Pot Limit
1998: 10th place WSOP $1,500 Omaha Pot Limit
1998: 3rd place WSOP $5000 Deuce to Seven Draw
1996: 5th place WSOP $5000 Deuce to Seven Draw
1995: 3rd place WSOP $5000 Deuce to Seven Draw
1995: 2nd place WSOP $5000 Chinese Poker
1992: 6th place $1,000 Queens Poker Classic
1991: Winner WSOP $2500 No Limit Hold’em
1986: 4th place WSOP $2500 Omaha Pot Limit
1983: 3rd place WSOP Main Event
1982: 3rd place WSOP $2500 Ace to Five Draw
1982: 4th place WSOP Main Event
1980: 2nd place WSOP $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw
1980: 2nd place WSOP Main Event
1979: Winner WSOP $600 Mixed Doubles
1978: Winner WSOP $5000 7 Card Stud
1977: Winner WSOP Main Event
1977: Winner WSOP $1000 7 Card Stud Split
1976: Winner WSOP $5000 Deuce to Seven Draw
1976: Winner WSOP $10,000 Main Event

Doyle and his wife Louise met in 1960 and were married in 1962. Louise became pregnant and later that year, Doyle discovered a tumor in his neck. Surgeons operated on it and found that it was cancer and had spread and told Doyle that is was incurable. Another operation was set to remove more cancer, giving Doyle enough time to see the birth of their first baby. But, during the surgery, doctors found no trace of cancer and said that Brunson’s recovery must have been a miracle.

Doyle and Louise's daughter, Doyla died at age 18 from a heart-valve condition. Over the following year, Brunson read Christian literature and converted to Christianity.

Brunson's son Todd is also a professional poker player and won a bracelet at the WSOP playing Omaha Hi/Lo. Winning the bracelet made the Brunson’s the first father-son combination to win at the World Series.